Research Methodology Basics

Key Terms in Research

• Plagiarism is the unethical use of another's words/ideas (planned or accidental), including one's own previous work, without proper acknowledgement.
• Sampling Design involves getting a representative sample from a larger population to study and generalize in quantitative research.
• Interest in the subject matter stems from existing knowledge or familiarity with a topic.
• Richness of available sources involves collecting ample information to find supporting evidence for you topic.
• Literature review is studying existing writings on a specific topic.
• Timeliness and Relevance are important factors for a research topic, especially if it improves society or addresses current issues.
• Scholarly Journals contain research results from social scientists/researchers, including literature review essays with commentary/evaluations.
• Descriptive Research aims to provide a picture of concepts/ideas about a topic/problem by describing the nature of variables.
• Theoretical Framework applies a theory to explain a phenomenon and the interrelationship of factors contributing to it.
• Research Problem leads to the need for a study and serves as the central idea and main reason.
• Population can be a person, group, organization, document, message, or measurable action.
• Government Documents are publications by national/local governments, agencies, and international bodies.
• Linkage involves forming connections between prior and existing knowledge.
• Non-probability sampling involves gradually choosing cases based on specific content in qualitative research.
• Dissertation and Thesis are written by graduate students, some published and accessible in university libraries.
• Charts describe relationships between parts of a group/object or sequence of operations.
• Hypothesis is a verifiable proposition explaining the relationship between two variables in the social world.
• Experimental Research involves manipulating one group and comparing outcomes to another, common in natural and social sciences.
• Graphs are used to show relationships in data sets.
• Conceptual Framework involves using concepts from theories, finding a variable corresponding to the concept's use in the theory.
• Abstract is an executive summary providing a quick preview of the research paper's content.
• Periodicals include newspapers, magazines, professional publications, internet news, and editorials.
• Frequency Distribution involves computing the percentage frequency distribution of a variable.
• Statistical Analysis examines numerical data to produce meaningful analyses, like univariate, bivariate, or multivariate.
• Conclusions are essential abstractions that synthesize the main points and answer the research questions in a study.
• Government Documents are published not only by the government but also by private research institutes and policy centers, including papers presented at professional conferences.
• Synthesis involves integrating materials from different sources.
• Conceptual framework provides an outline for the research and can be visually represented as a flow chart, map, diagram or narrative.
• Definition of Terms ensures clear understanding and avoids misinterpretation.
• Charts assist with describing the text in a study.
• Data Coding reorganizes data for computer processing using programs like SPSS or Nvivo, with rules assigning numbers to variables.
• Historical/Archival Research reconstructs the past using primary and secondary sources.
• APA Guide uses in-text citations with the author's surname, publication year, and page numbers.
• Books feature original research or compilations of articles from university presses
• Exploratory Research explains the reasons and causes of a problem or issue by exploring social behaviors, beliefs, situations, and events.
• Research involves systematic inquiry, gathering, recording, analyzing, and interpreting facts to understand a phenomenon.
• Drawings are images shown from different views illustrated by an artist.
• Appendices contain supplementary research-related information, such as survey questions and interview transcripts.
• Bibliography lists all references used in the research study.
• Applied Research addresses specific concerns or social problems, offering practical solutions.
• Exploratory Research is conducted to gain further insight into a problem.
• RRL refers to a written summary of research literature and relevant work on a topic.
• Survey Research provides numerical descriptions of opinions/attitudes using questionnaires/interviews for data collection.
• Citation involves acknowledging the sources of information.
• Modern Language Association (MLA) style is commonly used in Humanities.
• American Psychological Association (APA) style is widely used in education, business, and communication.
• Content Analysis gathers and analyzes text content, including words, meanings, pictures, symbols, ideas, and messages.
• Background of the Study explains the context with current data, existing studies, and the research's history.
• Data Analysis and Interpretation processes collected data to identify patterns, trends, similarities, differences, and relationships to address the research problem.
• Operational definition defines a concept specifically within a research study to clarify the purpose and direction.
• Basic Research advances knowledge and is used by academicians and scientists.
• Conceptual Framework consists of perspectives, points of views, models, or frames of references used by the researcher in the organization of observation, reasoning, analysis, and interpretation of research data.
• Citing Resources identifies sources to avoid plagiarism.
• Oral presentation disseminates research results to the public.
• Definition of Terms defines key terms used in the study in alphabetical order.
• Accuracy ensures reliability and correctness of information.
• Bibliography lists published references in the research, including authors' names, titles, and publication information.
• Field Research, also called ethnography or participant-observation research, involves the researcher's direct interaction and observation in a small-scale social setting.
• Relevance is the degree to which the information is useful or related.
• Significance of the Study explains its relevance and contribution to the field.
• Case Studies involve in-depth studies of an individual, organization, condition, event, or phenomenon.
• Recommendations suggest areas for future studies.
• Scope and Limitations of the Study define the extent and focus of the research.

Test your knowledge of research. Topics covered include plagiarism, sampling methods, literature review, research topic selection, and source credibility. This tests your knowledge of conducting research.